


Tracked

by sonshineandshowers



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Adventure, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Case Fic, Gen, Hidden scar, Hurt/Comfort, Murphy's Law, past self harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:14:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23219848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonshineandshowers/pseuds/sonshineandshowers
Summary: When finding a person of interest brings the team to the country, they go on an adventure through farms to bring him in for questioning.For Bad Things Happen Bingo prompt Hidden Scar.
Comments: 14
Kudos: 68
Collections: Bad Things Happen Bingo





	Tracked

**Author's Note:**

  * For [saviourhere](https://archiveofourown.org/users/saviourhere/gifts).



> this all started with a mistype of traitor as tractor. <3 my friends. this last bthb is dedicated to all of you wonderful people who keep me laughing. :) y'all mean the world to me.

The stream ran high, the unseasonably warm winter dumping hoards of rain that overflowed the banks. They’d had to go back and forth a couple times to avoid the muck, the first over a downed tree, the second over a makeshift pallet bridge. They stared down the third, large rocks the only option for a path.

They only wound up in the country seeking one Frederick Malloy when his brother, David, was found murdered in the city, a scythe through sore eyes. David didn’t approve of Frederick inheriting one of the farms he worked on. Frederick didn’t approve of David butting in where he didn’t belong.

But their case converged with another local one seeking a farmhand suspected of stowing bodies instead of hay. Doing them in with a pitchfork, moving them with a tractor, and stacking them high in the hay loft of the Parker’s farm. Local police had the barn freshly taped off, still working inside. When they called ahead about finding Frederick, they sent an officer out to shadow them. They stopped at the Parker’s farm first, but the farmhand tilling pointed them to the Jensen’s farm up the street.

They arrived to Chuck Jensen answering the door explaining Frederick was out in the field, and they’d need to go for a walk to get to him. “Doesn’t he have a phone?” Malcolm complained.

“No. Doesn’t work out here,” Chuck smiled back. “Or ya can wait ’til sunset when he gets back.”

They updated their local backup and set out. Malcolm was the furthest from sneakers, his slick soles unforgiving on the uneven terrain. Dani was right behind him, her boots nimble enough, yet not having much tread. JT’s slip-ons and Gil’s loafers managed fine, yet they weren’t thrilled at the prospect of trekking across the farm. But none of them voiced they didn’t want to ruin their shoes sinking and squishing in the mud. They had a person of interest they needed to talk to, and they’d go where they needed to find him.

So they stared down a path of rocks, hoping to all hell there was a better way to get to the other side. Water rushed past each one, the stream rolling with extra runoff. “This is the last crossing,” Chuck shared.

 _Then we get to do this whole trek back_. JT grumbled, competing with Malcolm for who was least thrilled with the whole debacle. Adventures through the city, sure. Through a farm? Not a favorite destination.

“C’mon guys, it’ll be fun,” Dani started across after their guide, moving from rock to rock with ease.

JT gestured to Gil to go next, but Gil shook his head.

So JT started across, frustrated as his larger feet skidded on the slippery surfaces. Each person who crossed brought water with them, leading the tops of the rocks to keep getting wetter. “Go careful, Bright,” JT called from the other side, inspecting the damage to his shoes.

Halfway across, Malcolm's foot slid on transfer and he tipped backward onto the previous rock, thudding into the stream.

It wasn’t the impact with the rocks or water that caused significant hurt, but what lay beneath the surface. He screamed in agony, his hand jittering to feel what he'd hit. The flow kept rushing into his side, but it wasn’t strong enough to push him away.

Gil was beside him before he could try to move, the water up to his knees. He caught some blood mixing into the water, yet couldn’t tell from what. The current threatened to pull Malcolm’s head under, but their guide waded in behind him, propping him up.

“Oughta call you dropsy.” Chuck laughed, surveying the damage. A sawed off steel fencepost, now embedded in the outside of Malcolm’s thigh. “Used ta be a fence through here. Ya found it.”

Gil got a look himself, finding the wound hadn’t penetrated his whole thigh and perhaps wasn’t as deep as it could have been. Still, Malcolm curled up, hands hovering near his thigh, trying to bear with the pain.

“The bulls’ll gore you worse,” Chuck contrasted, seeing part of the top of the post still out of his skin. “We’ll tie ya up with your belt, and you’ll be fine.”

Bulls? They hadn't seen any of those. Malcolm undid his belt, slid it out, and offered it.

“Outta the water.” The farmer turned to the bank. “One of ya have some cloth ready we can tie him up with.”

Chuck the most level headed and controlling the situation, they all followed his direction. JT turned and peeled off layers to get to his t-shirt, then replaced the rest. Gil held Malcolm’s hand while the farmer assessed the best way to move him. Dani looked over the hill, trying to see if their person of interest was in sight.

Another shout of excruciating pain had all of their heads snapping to Gil carrying Malcolm up the bank. Dark blood sopped into Malcolm’s pants. Gil set him on the browned grass and the farmer was there, cutting off his pant leg with a pocket knife, packing the jagged puncture wound with JT’s t-shirt, and holding it in place with the tightened belt.

“How are ya?” Dani chanced after he’d had a moment to breathe.

“Might need a tetanus shot,” Malcolm covered his grimace with a joke. Now soaked, even the warm day couldn’t keep him from shivering.

Malcolm’s knees propped up under Gil’s jacket on a rock and his wound facing the ground, an odd-shaped scar on the top of his thigh stood out against the ragged cut across his pants and the light hue of his skin. JT and Dani both caught it, yet didn’t say a word. “You get burned with a fire poker?” Chuck asked, pointing to the charred edges.

More like branded. With a lighter, matches, metal - anything he could get his hands on. On the inside of his thigh, sensitive skin that brought enough pain to be worthwhile, yet no one would ever see. His ears lit with the memories, balancing out the chill of the water.

“Can we get on with it, please?” Gil requested, saving Malcolm from any response.

“Fred should be just on the other side,” Chuck pointed out, gesturing at the top of the hill.

“You two okay if I stay here with him?” Gil asked, looking between Dani and JT.

They both gave slight nods. “Hang in there short shorts,” Dani teased, and they continued following the farmer.

“You alright?” Gil asked Malcolm when they were alone.

“It was a long time ago.” Eighth grade when Gil caught him in their apartment. A few more times when he’d been more strung out. Gil begging him to call instead of adding another mark to his skin.

“I know, kid. I know.” He squeezed Malcolm’s shoulder. “I mean the new one to add to your collection.”

“It’s there. Don’t think you’ll have to amputate. Getting back, though…” Malcolm trailed off, unsure how he’d be able to retrace all those steps.

Gil shrugged. “We’ll figure it out.”

* * *

Frederick worked with a chainsaw in a patch of trees, clearing the rambling branches. He cut the gas when he saw them approach. “Hey, Chuck,” he greeted, looking to the other people who walked with him.

“These nice folks from the NYPD have some questions about your brother,” the farmer relayed.

“Sure.” Frederick nodded to them, acting just as he had before the question. Dani could see sadness well in his eyes, yet she couldn’t detect any stronger reaction.

“Their friend took a tumble, though - little beat up - let’s see if we take him back ta the house first?”

He nodded. “Just a second.”

They watched as Frederick ducked behind the trees and an engine rumbled. A tractor pulled around with a front-end loader carrying the few tools Frederick was using.

“We could have driven out here?” JT noted, miffed there was an alternative.

“No, ‘cause the tractor’s out here,” Chuck pointed out the obvious.

Dani elbowed JT with a smirk.

“I’ll drive - Fred’ll fit behind me. The two of ya hop on the hitch in the back.” Chuck directed his hand to the spots he wanted them to fill.

They followed Chuck’s instructions, grabbed onto the frame above his seat, and held on through the bumpy ride. Chuck made short work of climbing the hill. Gil and Malcolm’s eyes grew wide when they heard the diesel engine and saw the tractor appear. “You gotta be kiddin’ me.” Gil shook his head.

“Think that’s his means of transport?” Malcolm compared to their case.

“Wrong farm,” Gil disagreed.

“Still.”

Gil lifted Malcolm under the knees, the motion pulling at Malcolm’s wound and making him wince. “Into the bucket,” Chuck directed. Gil got Malcolm settled, half-sitting, half-leaning into the edge, and Chuck added, “You too.”

A tighter fit for Gil, he rested his shoulders against the top of the bucket and kept his weight back. Chuck lifted the bucket further off the ground, and they tipped backward, nestled in the tractor’s grasp. “Didn’t know I was gonna get a ride today,” Malcolm commented, eyes looking for any trace he might be able to see.

“What?” Gil called.

“It’s too loud!” Malcolm shouted back.

The noise of the tractor kept attracting the cattle, giving everyone a fun obstacle to contend with as they tried to lick them. The cows licked and nipped at Gil and Malcolm's feet, looking for the grain that usually came along with the rumbling sound.

The trip back to the farmhouse went much faster, the tractor returning over the hill and going a long route of tire tread paths to the house. They braked to swing open gates, JT hopping off the back to complete the action so Dani could keep an eye on Frederick. "Get outta here, Daphne," Chuck hollered at a persistent cow who kept nuzzling JT's jacket.

Back in an animal-less space, they all took a moment to breathe standing on the dirt driveway. At Gil’s request and Malcolm’s complaint, Chuck called for an ambulance, and they waited for it to arrive.

“We’d like to ask you some questions about the murder of your brother, David,” JT explained.

“Okay, would be happy to help.” Frederick slid his hands into his pockets and averted his eyes. “But I think the guy you’re looking for is my other brother, Jason.”

“How do you know that?” Dani interjected.

“He’s been…weird. I think I’m next.”

“Where can we find him?” JT asked. _Please don’t say a farm, please don’t say a farm, please don’t -_

“He’s probably up at Fox Ridge - farm up the street.” Frederick pointed.

They worked through several more questions checking his alibi and discussing his brother’s behaviors while waiting. Gil piled Malcolm into the ambulance with the promise they’d get to him as soon as they could. Protesting the whole way, Gil stood firm, “Go, or I’ll call your mother.” Malcolm rolled his eyes and let the paramedics strip him to get him into a drier gown and a blanket to reduce his shivering. It’d be a bit of a ride to the nearest hospital, and they wanted to warm him up on the way.

 _Boss, I don’t enjoy these trips to the country_ staying on JT’s tongue, Gil updated their local police escort and drove the lot of them up the road to find Jason. Mucking out stalls with a pitchfork, Jason tried to run at his brother when he saw him, yet he stopped when shouting and multiple guns pointed at him. The local police officer arrested him.

“Why did you pin this on me?” Frederick complained to Jason as he was led away to the police car.

“You didn’t give me my share of the farm. You didn’t approve of my hobby,” Jason scowled, kicking the dirt.

“You spend so much time grabbing ass instead of working. They said you _killed_ people.” Frederick shook his hand at him when he couldn’t shake him.

“Only David.” Multiple Davids.

“Bullshit. Everyone over at the Parker’s is _family_.” Frederick fisted the air as if he could get a punch in before his brother was taken away.

“I don’t have any family.” Jason locked eyes with Frederick. “Not anymore.” The officer closed Jason into the car.

Frederick’s eyes turned into the dirt driveway, not watching the car drive away. “Would you be willing to come with us to answer some more questions?” JT asked Frederick.

“Yes.”

“Another officer should be here any minute so you can follow us,” Dani shared.

As soon as Frederick’s ride was secured, they piled into Gil’s. “Time to backtrack,” Gil said in the car, Dani and JT buckling in.

“Home?” JT wondered, but he knew it was more a wish than a reality.

“A few towns over to get accommodations for the night. Four bodies most recent count,” Gil updated. “They’re going to want first go at questioning Jason.”

“So we’re gonna talk to Frederick,” Dani assumed.

“Yeah. Man, I hate coming out here,” Gil sighed, starting the car. “Nothing ever goes…right.”

“I thought it was just me.” JT smiled, relieved he could feel less guilty about his thoughts.

“Oh, Bright’s right there with you,” Dani added. “We gonna pick him up first?”

“Yeah, we’ll rescue him.” Gil smiled, tempting as it was to let someone else deal with him for a bit.

“Danger dumbass,” JT mumbled, realizing too late it had slipped from his tongue.

“Destructive dingus,” Dani returned.

Gil shook his head. “My chaotic kid.”

“So how many scars since he came here?” Dani teased, passing the time.

Gil started, “If I said I stopped counting - “

“I wouldn’t believe you,” Dani interjected.

“Some number I’m tracking for audit purposes,” Gil left his response intentionally vague.

“Uh huh.”

“Let me drive, Powell.” He made eye contact with her through the rearview mirror.

“He okay?” JT checked from the passenger seat.

“Yeah.”

“Be on the lookout for places for dinner after interrogation,” Dani reminded.

“It’s farmland for miles,” JT addressed the silliness of the suggestion.

“So look until we find something.”

"No meat - all I'm gonna see is Daphne."

* * *

_fin_


End file.
